Child&#39;s toy train chassis



" 1935. H. A. DECKER 2,035,302

CHILDS TOY TRAIN CHASSIS Filed July 13, 1935 Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES CHILDS T'OY TRAIN CHASSIS Homer A. Decker, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The Butler Paper Products Company, Toledo, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application July 13, 1935, Serial No. 31,197

2 Claims.

The object of my invention is to provide a toy for children whereby an ordinary one-pound butzercarton may be employed to form a butter-box rain.

Another object of my invention is to provide a toy for children having commercial and advertising value tending to stimulate the sale of butter or packaged articles, and which may be manu factured at minimum expense and given as gifts or premiums with purchases of articles in cartons.

The particular object of my invention is to provide a chassis or under-part having simulated wheels and suitable for use with ordinary commercial cartons to form a train car and having means whereby the under-parts may be interlocked, so that the cars may be connected together to form a train.

The invention consists in other features and advantages which will appear fro-m the following description and upon examination of the drawing. Structures containing the invention may partake of different forms and. still embody the invention. To illustrate a practical application of the invention, I have selected a, childs toy train chassis as an example of the various structures and details thereof that contain the invention and shall describe the selected childs toy hereinafter, it being understood that variations may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The particular childs toy selected is shown in the accompanying drawing and described hereinafter.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the toy. Fig. 2 is a view of a blank cut and scored to form the chassis or under-part. Fig. 3 is a view of an assembled chassis. Fig. 4 illustrates one type of connecting tab whereby the chassis may be interconnected.

In the form of construction shown in the drawing, the blank I is cut to form the wheel portions 2, the tongue 3, the axle portion 4, and the locking tongues 6. These parts are rendered foldable relative to the body of the chassis by the scored lines 8, 9, and IS. The score lines are of the type well known and are produced by depressing the blank along the lines 8, 9, and ii] and rendering adjacent parts foldable relative to each other within limited angular movements.

The wheel portions 2 are cut as at l2, and the cuts l2 are of suitable length to receive the protruding portions I4 of the axle part 4. When the axle part 4 is folded along the score lines 9 and I0 and the protruding parts are inserted in the cuts l2, the protruding parts l4 frictionally engage the wheel portions 2 and maintain the wheel portions in position at substantially right angles to the body portion of the chassis or under-part I. The cuts !2 are preferably cut in the direction in which the protruding parts are to be inserted and the side edges of the cuts are displaced from each other by a width materially less than the thickness of the protruding parts l4. Thus, the parts M are inserted in the cuts l2, and the side edges of the cuts frictionally engage the protruding parts because of the tendency of the side edges toresume their normal positions relative to each other notwithstanding their displacement by the thickness of the protruding portion. Consequently the side edge sections of the cuts pinch in on the protruding parts and maintain the parts in the slits.

In assembling the axle and. wheel portions, the portion [3 is folded back along the score line 9 against the lower surface of the body portion. The axle is then bent at right angles to the portion l3 along the score line H], and the protruding parts M are inserted in the cuts l2 of the wheel portions. The engagement of the protruding portions in the cuts prevents the tendency of the axle 4 and the portion i3 to spring back to their normal plane positions, and the resultant pressure maintains the wheel portions in position and results in a rigid, reenforced chassis or under-part.

The chassis is slightly narrower than the width of the ordinary one-pound butter carton, and when the toy is assembled, the bottom of the butter carton is slotted as with a sharp knife to form slits through which the locking tongues 6 may be inserted. The locking tongues are formed integral with the wheel portions and thus when the wheel portions are bent at right angles to the body of the chassis along the score lines 8, the locking tongues project upwardly at the same time in the plane of the wheel portions. The locking tongues may be cut to have slightly rounded end edges to facilitate easy insertion in the slots of the butter box. In assembly the wheel portions 2 are bent at substantially right angles to the body portions of the chassis along the score lines 8, and the axle portion 4 is bent along the score lines 9 and II], and. the protruding parts It inserted in the slots of the wheel portions to maintain the Wheel portions at substantially right angles to the body portion of the chassis. The locking tongues 6 are then inserted in the slots made in the bottom of the carton, resulting in a substantially rigid chassis. Two chassis are used with each carton, one at each end, and make of each butter carton a train car suitable for a childs toy.

The tongues 3 of certain of the chassis may be provided with a connecting tab l6, foldable along the score line I1. Others of the chassis are provided with a suitable slot l8 inthe tongue 3 which is adapted to receive the connecting tab "5. The tongues 3 protrude beyond the carton when the toy is assembled, and thus the locking tab l6 may be inserted in the slot I8 and bent along the score line I! to-form a butter box train.

I claim:

1. In a chassis for a childs toy train, a box, a blank cut and scored to form body, wheel, and axle portions, the wheel portions foldable at right angles to the body portion and having cuts, the said axle portion having a part foldable against the body portion and a part foldable to position at right angles to the body portion, the axle portion having protruding portions adapted to frictionally engage the wheel portions through the cuts, locking tongues cut from the body portion and formed integral with the wheel portions and adapted to secure the chassis to the box.

2. In a childs toy train, blanks cut and scored to form wheel, body, axle, and tongue portions, the wheel portions foldable at right angles to the body portions and having cuts, the axle portions having a part foldable against the body portion of the axle and a part foldable at right angles to the body portions and. having protruding portions adapted to frictionally engage the wheel portions through the cuts, locking tongues cut from the body portions and formed integral with the wheel portions and adapted to secure \the chassis to slotted boxes, certain of the first named tongue portions cut and scored to form locking tabs foldable at right angles to the tongue portions, others of the said tongues having slots, the said slots adapted to receive the said locking tabs to interconnect the chassis and form a continuous train.

' HOMER A. DECKER. 

